Ramblings from Oz

Thursday, May 25, 2006

In what will surely be billed as a bold new move to secure a "dignified living," or some other such nonsense, for ALL people, the BritGov is considering raising the minimum retirement age!!! Yippie. Tony Blair is a genius.

If the number of babies they've been havin' for the last two generations isn't enough to cover their "compassionate social programs," (this model kinda went out of style after the Soviets PROVED THAT IT DIDN'T WORK) we'll just up the ante on the time required for the slave labor to continue. The populace can handle it, they are living longer, you know. Brilliant.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

There are few people in this world who I actually feel humbled by, intellectually, but Billy Beck is one of them.

Without even getting into the links provided, I run across this tidbit:

"I make this point, and cite this single example, in order to illustrate the *scope* of political challenge in America today. Without diminishing (please!) the importance of, orblood-sweat-&-tears investment in, the civil rights movement, it seems clear to me that it cannot compare to the urgency of the problem which is manifest in the very existence of a "militia movement". I will stand corrected if I am mistaken, but I think that the last time so many people seriously uttered the words "civil war" in America (outside of history class), we actually *fought* one. Today, lots of people on every side do their best not to utter that phrase out loud...and they are less successful as time passes. Many people don't make the pretense of circumspection." [My emphasis]

It is not just a little thing to mention the words "Civil War," or "Revolution," especially when there are turdball politicians running around drafting anti-First Amenment legislation without any thought (or care) as to its consequences.

He continues with other cogent thoughts, and arrives at the conclusion that I came to, albeit about five years later it seems; that there will be a time when the gloves come off.

I was at the university studying the arcane aspects of Architecture, with a capital "A", at the time of the referenced rant, and doing a damn fine job of resisting the fawning of BJ Boy Bill by his felating minions, by the droves, in Lawrence. However, I was somewhat insulated at the time by not only the nature of academia, but by the utter lack of contact with the reality of the world around me. For but one example, it was almost 8 hours after the improvised explosive device detonated that I was informed by a classmate that the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City had become the target of domestic terrorism. How is it that someone is not aware of something like that at that day and age (1995)? I was not within a mile of a TV or radio, and was in my studio at the time of the events, and that is all I can say.

During this time, the U.S. was in full bloom, or so I am told. Everything, it seemed, was tinted with the rose colored glasses: the economy was booming, gas was cheap, stock market on a run to the moon, unemployment next to non-existant, inflation low, political ties (supposedly) were strong. This is the popular view of the way things were. Supposedly. I am not at all as optomistic about these years, as I was a broke student working three jobs and getting about 3 to 4 hours of sleep a night for 5 of those years during Slick Willy's presidency. Again, more insulation. Nothing could be done about it beyond what I was already doing, which was keeping my nose to the grindstone.

Back to my point.

Billy eventually comes to this frightening thought, from his last link, "Threshold of Outrage":

"How can one determine the moment when reason has failed, and that there is no longer any hope of argument against force?"

Damn. Good. Question.

He continues;

"the depth and breadth of ideological "corruption" is beyond the reach of suchmethods with regard to the years, days, and hours of my own life."

" [Those] who do not commit their own intellectual efforts to sorting through it in explicit terms."

"At this point in our history, individuals are responding ever more frequently." - The Hell you say!

"my individual resistence would be perfectly futile against the massed force of the government." I disagree here. His point is well taken, and possibly true, but there are points in human events, many even, that were spurned from individual action against what can only be described as an overwhelming foe.

"back a man into a corner with other men -- all proficient in modern weaponry, and all unbending believers in liberty -- make it clear that you mean to destroy them, and a most dangerous type of resistance is born: a competent one." [My emphasis] - David Codrea, GUNS Magazine, November 2005

I guess that I have been tuned out for a few days, as work's had me busier than a two bit French whore with the local Naval unit on shore leave, but I'm still surprised I missed it. I don't remember hearing anything about it on any of the major networks. Big surprise.

I think Bill Quick is right on with the probe and dry run thing, and a comparison to the Beslan massacre is no hyperbole either. If there is one thing these jihadis know, it's how the media works. They didn't fly planes into some remote area back in '01, they didn't just fly them into any building, either. They flew into the most high profile buildings (in more than one respect) in the city that the cameras are always on. It was done for the news coverage that would be generated; for calculated effect. That is how they figured to make us cower, not at the taking of 3,000 lives, but the thought of it happening anywhere, and everywhere, thanks to the CNN effect of media, constant updates and reminders of what can happen.

My wife sometimes thinks I'm a little paranoid when I start talking about making another bulk ammo buy after these types of incidents, but, as they say, you can never have too much ammo. Ever! Another case of SA 7.62x51 surplus for me, thank you very much.

Looks to me like a Wyoming homestead and homeschooling for this family in the not too distant future.